I might have mentioned the offer/loan of not just one, but TWO, golf carts since leaving the 18 month residence?   If not, I’ve used 2 different carts.  The one I have now is (YIKES!  NOT parked undercover, I left it thinking I’d be going back out this evening - instead I worked till 10PM and then caught up on Castle episodes, online!) not the “prettiest”, but it’s my sparkling treasure.

Still reeling from the attempt to eliminate the filth from where I’m now living, even after the Angel Cards, I KNEW I had to do something to cheer myself up…GOLF CART TO THE RESCUE.

This past Thursday, even though it was chilly, I took the cart to the first of the three jobs I now hold…past the lake with the beautiful waterfall, and this time of the year, the geese - someone was feeding them.  I stopped to watch, UNTIL I heard the dogs barking and yapping at the dog park I have to pass on the way to the bridge over the highway…

I left the beauty of the geese and the water, to head to the park where I stopped to watch 2 little dogs on the small dog side of the fence running head to head with 2 huge dogs on the other side…back and forth, the length of the fence, these 4 dogs ran - barking and yapping at each other…I was smiling when they finally wore themselves out and went to find a place to relieve themselves…

I continued smiling as I went up over the bridge and then, free “falling”, LOOK MA, NO HANDS (and no brakes) as I flew down the other side, past another pond/lake where more water fowl were serenely paddling around.

I arrived at work HAPPY again…the sky was blue, the sun was shining and I had access to a golf cart.

Heaven.

I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here…when I’ve not been working, sleeping or trying to do something fun for myself, I’ve been “meaning to” see about getting access to the internet from “home”.  I’d found that there are 3 secured wireless accounts in range of my PC, but just had not had the time to investigate who/where they are in relation to this mobile.   On Sunday (yesterday), I FINALLY took the time to search for the one of the three that was an actually name…and I stopped by, finding the owner of the residence out in the front yard.  I parked the car and got out, walked around the card towards her and said “I’ve got an offer you can probably refuse”.  She laughed.

Long story short, for $13/mth, I have internet access (THANK HEAVENS!) from “home”.

And, the offer to visit 4 beautiful cats whenever I want.  One is an outdoor beauty…the other 3 indoor cats.  The two sisters, one computer literate, the other a writer, have invited me to visit whenever I feel the need to be with their animals.

The world is a beautiful place…sometimes, I forget.

Within the first week, when I couldn’t think of a reason to keep on keeping on…I noticed my Angel and Saints cards…I’ve probably mentioned them before??  Anyway, I was worried about my health, the smell, the dampness, the 56 degree temperature INSIDE the mobile.

I picked up the deck with the question “AM I SAFE, IS IT HEALTHY TO LIVE HERE”…

I read the instructions and started shuffling the deck (after hitting the deck with my fist to knock out any other energy).

As the cards “jumped” out of the deck, or slid out, or otherwise appeared to be “meant for me”, I placed them, face down, on the bed.

I’m actually sleeping on my own blow up mattress…been using it since I “hit the skids” starting around 2008.   I like how it feels and I KNOW it’s clean, or as clean as I can make it….anyway, the bed is NOT the story here.

So, I had 10 or so cards, and as the instructions had stated, I “knew” it was time to stop.  I can’t remember IF I shuffled the 10 cards or not, or if I just picked them up and laid down the first 3, but the instructions say the first is the PAST, the next is TODAY, and the third is the FUTURE.

The first card was Generosity.  I can read meaning into that one, but I’m not certain about the context.   It was the next two cards that helped me sleep for the FIRST TIME since moving in…

The second card, the one for NOW, was the HEALING card.  THE answer to my concerns.

The third card, for the future, was the HEAVEN IS WATCHING OVER YOU card.  Can’t ask for much more than that!!

Do I believe in the cards?

I believe that I am loved and that someone (my Dad, the spirit of a departed and beloved animal, or my Guardian Angel?) used those cards to help me feel safe enough to sleep.  They gave me HOPE.

That’s all that matters.

Well…I’m in the “new” place. Complete with more filth than one could imagine.

Well, I guess one could imagine and it would probably be much worse than the filth I’ve experienced that last 14, going on 15, days…I didn’t walk barefoot inside until about day 5. My poor Rainbow vacuum has seen more dirt and debris than I’ve seen in the years that I’ve owned it…and this after vacuuming the SAME ROOMS more than 3 times.

I’m in an OLD mobile, one that’s been “updated” by a bachelor, who, he told me today, when we talked briefly on the phone, “LIVED HERE HAPPILY”.

I can see the GROUND in between one of the “walls” of the bathroom and the “newly” installed vanity. I’ve taped the area, he’s going to eventually put up a strip of wood…the opening which lets in dampness, bugs and some of the wonderfully, abundant, smells I’ve had the pleasure of inhaling, that opening will REMAIN OPEN, behind the strip of wood. The owner doesn’t mind, because HE DOESN’T HAVE TO LIVE HERE.

Have to…I guess I don’t HAVE TO…but, for now, the rent is paid for 2 months. AND I HOPE (PLEASE GOD) to sort through my STUFF that cost me the nice place to live, donate what I TRULY DO NOT NEED to a shelter, and FIND A CLEAN, DRY and safe place to live.

SOON.

I chose this place with blinders on, I was hurt and dismayed, disillusioned, and surprised to find that I wasn’t wanted in a place which had welcomed me so warmly. It appears that the decision for me to “move my stuff” wasn’t a mutual one with the couple who owned the last place…but, it doesn’t matter now…I’m out.

I’ve spent $200 to have the HVAC professionally cleaned…whatever was growing in the intake portion is STILL THERE…but the stuff that could be vacuumed out (I have a photo, gross, very gross) has left the building, but the stuff that NEEDS TO BE SCRUBBED out is still there…and I will NOT be using the furnace, no matter HOW COLD it gets. There is no way for me to scrub it…not sure it would even hold up, it’s probably as old as the mobile.

But, I did scrub as far as I could reach in each of the 6 registers…whatever was caked at the bottom of 3 of them was more than disgusting. My Rainbow choked, as well, during the excavation of the everything of a dry nature (dead roaches, particle board, dirt, pennies, heaven help me) which could be vacuumed from the caverns beneath the floor where I still am not totally comfortable walking barefoot. Sometimes I forget…and very quickly find something to wear on my feet.

With each thing that I cleaned, some of the smell was eliminated…but the dampness remains, most days anyway. I’m in Florida, and since I’m not going to run the AC or the heat, that means the windows are open…it’s 76% humidity right now, inside and out. The gauge that I have which tells me the humidity, also indicates that any level above 60 is TOO HIGH for long term exposure. Can’t be too worried, the Hawaiians, and other island folk live in extremely humid conditions all of their lives.

But even with the absence of many of the odors, there are still the occasionally wafting of something(S) that causes me to wonder, WHAT? WHERE? and also, HOW DO I GET RID OF IT. I’m afraid to look too closely at those places I can access…I’ve used contact paper to cover the open holes around the plumbing, and I looked up natural remedies for the ROACHES that are starting to appear, even though I’ve cleaned all of the surfaces I can reach…right now I’ve decorated the kitchen and the bathroom with BAY LEAVES, which I read are a healthy deterrent…not to the roaches, but for me. I have some Comet that I’ll be sprinkling around as well…and I’ll probably pick up a box of Tide - roaches hate soap. They must have loved living here.

My friend brought her shampoo’er (?) over on Saturday and I couldn’t believe the ADDITIONAL filth that came from the 2 carpeted bedrooms (the carpets I’d already cleaned more than once with the Rainbow - can’t blame the Rainbow…poor thing). The Rainbow, like the shampooer, collects the dirt/filth in a water basin. Our science experiments involved turning crystal clear water in to dark brown slimy liquid, and lots of dirt. Oh, did I mention?? THIS PLACE WAS PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE I MOVED IN.

Or so he told me. I didn’t see much more than a place that didn’t cost TOO much more than the place I had to leave. Going from paying no rent, to paying $650, and then, to $650 + electric + water - without internet or cable…just shoot me. But, I saw 2 bedrooms where I could sort through my “stuff”, bring more of my stuff from storage to also sort through…but, also, I saw a place where - HOPEFULLY - the landlord wouldn’t be coming into my space every day to turn off the fan, and go through my things.

Yeah, I ran the fan in the bedroom in the last place, instead of running the A/C, while I was at work…so that it wasn’t stuffy when I returned. The electric was included in the $650/mth rent…so, on the days when I did leave it running, I’d come home to find it turned off - I thought I was going crazy. She told me the day she came to tell me about using her place as storage…and how it was costing too much to cool my things. When I told her I used the fan instead of the A/C as I thought it would be less expensive, she said she’d rather I DID use the A/C…

I do not believe my stuff was the issue…I have an idea of what the real reason was, but it doesn’t matter now anyway.

So, 13 days of cleaning, paying to have the HVAC professionally (right) cleaned - they are returning to re-sanitize the system, since there is still a smell coming from the vents when I run the fan. I was told that running the fan with the windows open would “help”. It hasn’t - anyway, the place still smells sometimes, it’s still damp, and now I have company too. Roaches.

I could go on and on, but I keep reminding myself of the displaced families of Haiti, Japan and Turkey - the ones who would LOVE to have a door to close, a roof to sleep (cringe) under, running water and a refrigerator. I’ve cleaned the best, yes, one could ALWAYS do more, but I’m just tired…working 3 part-time jobs to pay rent and support myself…with limited swing dancing opportunities, it’s almost been too much…”why bother” has been a reoccurring theme, but that’s lessening now as the smells abate and the “crunchy” carpet in the front bedroom looks and smells cleaner than it probably has in ages. I couldn’t believe that the nasty stains in that room actually came up with just one pass over of the shampooer. I slept better on Saturday night knowing that the place was even more clean than the night before.

I’ll be talking with the owner in the next day or two…I’ve already told him that this place is presentable now. Once he covers up the view of the ground beneath the floor, even more so.

Wish me luck. I’m hoping NOT to have to pay electric while I’m here. I’ve put in enough sweat equity, not to mention the $200 for the HVAC cleaning.